STOCKS RISE: Here's what you need to know

Stocks climbed in the final hour of trading after being
relatively flat for much of Friday. The major indexes closed positive for the
week, and gold had its best week in two months.

First, the scoreboard:

Dow:17,477.40,
+69.15, (0.40%)

S&P
500:2,091.54, +8.15,
(0.39%)

Nasdaq:5,048.23,
+14.68, (0.29%)

And now, the
top stories on Friday:

The US
oil rig count rose for a fourth straight period this week,
according to driller Baker Hughes. The oil rig count
rose by 2 to 672. The gas rig count fell 2 to 211, and the
total rig count was unchanged from last week at
884.

Crude oil prices rose slightly on Friday after falling to
fresh six-year lows. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures
climbed to as high as $42.92 per barrel in New York, after
falling to $41.46 overnight. In a note to clients, Societe
Generale's Kit Juckes wrote, "It’s now clear to financial markets
that tackling oversupply in a world with more modest demand
growth, requires
a more protracted undershoot in oil prices." The outlook is
still bearish.

The Eurogroup approved an
86 billion euro-bailout for Greece over three years. It was
agreed to after a six-hour meeting that followed the stamp of
approval from Greece's parliament.

The University of Michigan's
consumer sentiment index showed a preliminary reading of
92.9 for August, below expectations for 93.5 and compared to
93.1 in July. The nine-month average of the reading is at its
highest since 2004. "Fortunately, sentiment held up in
early August, another sign that the consumer confidence drop in
July may have been overdone," UBS' Maury Harris wrote in a
client note.

Industrial production rose to an eight-month high of
0.6% (0.3% estimated), boosted by auto output. Capacity
utilization rose 78%. "The big July
increase in industrial production is further proof that the
U.S. economy is expanding at an above-trend pace in mid-2015,
after a weak start to the year tied to bad weather and the West
Coast ports labor dispute," wrote PNC chief economist Stuart
Hoffman in a note.

El Pollo Loco shares slumped 19% after the company reported
quarterly revenues and same-store sales
below forecasts. Second-quarter revenues totaled $89.5
million ($93 million estimated), and sales at stores open for
at least one year grew 1.3% (3.2% forecast). The
Mexican-style-chicken chain expects to open as many as 24
restaurants during the fiscal year 2015.

Lumber Liquidators jumped by up to 10%. Hedge fund Tiger
Management disclosed in a 13F filing today that it took a
new position in the hardwood flooring
retailer of 238,000 shares. The stock is down
about 79% year-to-date following an episode of "60 Minutes" in
March that showed the company's laminate flooring
sourced in China contained excessive levels of formaldehyde.
The story will be rerun this Sunday on CBS, as the company
remains under a federal investigation.